The present invention comprises a new and distinct New Guinca impatiens plant, botanically known as Impatiens hawkeri, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Balceblicoxe2x80x99.
The new cultivar was developed by the inventor through a controlled breeding program during 1997 in Arroyo Grande, Calif. The objective of the breeding program was to develop cultivars with numerous large flowers, compact to moderate growth habit and excellent basal branching.
The female (seed) parent of xe2x80x98Balceblicoxe2x80x99 was the proprieitary Impatiens hawkeri cultivar designated xe2x80x9850-4xe2x80x99 (non-patented), characterized by its pink flowers, compact habit and dark green foilage. The male (pollen) parent of xe2x80x98Balceblicoxe2x80x99 was the proprietary Impatiens hawkeri cultivar designated xe2x80x981578xe2x80x99 (non-patented), characterized by its salmon flowers, compact habit and dark green variegated foliage. xe2x80x98Balceblicoxe2x80x99 was discovered and selected as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross by the inventor in December of 1997.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal or stem cuttings has demonstrated that the characteristics of the new cultivar as herein described are firmly fixed and are retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation. xe2x80x98Balceblicoxe2x80x99 has been asexually reproduced in Arroyo Grande, Calif. and West Chicago, Ill.
It was found that the cultivar of the present invention:
(a) Exhibits large round light coral flowers,
(b) Forms bronze foilage with yellow/orange variegation,
(c) Exhibits a good basal branching character, and
(d) Exhibits an upright mounded growth habit.
The new cultivar of the present invention can be compared to Celebration Deep Coral (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,214). In side by side comparisons, plants of the new cultivar differ from plants of Celebration Deep Coral by the following characteristics: it is found that the new cultivar is more compact, has larger flowers that are more orange in color and different foliage variegation. A detailed comparison can be found in Table A, below.